1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus and method for disposing of organic vegetation materials. In one aspect, the invention relates to comminuting organic vegetation materials, such as that encountered in landscaping activities, to produce a mulch.
2. Background Information
Barnes, U. S. Pat. No. 2,105,803, discloses a lawn cleaning machine having suction means to gather leaves, grass clippings, and the like from the ground, convey the same through a cutting mechanism, and distribute the shredded material. The invention is mobile on a wheeled frame. A suction fan 16 is disposed within a housing adjacent the inlet opening. Rotating and stationary cutting disks 27 and 28 are mounted on the free end of the motor shaft.
Reinecker et al, U. S. Pat. No. 3,392,923, disclose a mulching machine with flail and blower adapted to be mounted on the back of a truck 10 or any moving platform (Col. 2, lines 11-15). FIG. 4 shows fan 61 and flails 62 attached to the same rotating shaft.
Carlson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,630, shows a leaf vacuum and shredder which can be mounted on a trailer for pulling behind a vehicle (Col. 3, lines 62-64). Fan 60 creates a vacuum to suck up the leaves. The leaves first are drawn from the inlet hose into a shredding chamber and then pass to the vacuum chamber housing the fan. The shredding chamber employs whips or thin blades 50 of stiff metal wire so that valuable shell crops such as nuts are not shredded or comminuted by the machine. These nuts, which are mixed with the leaves and vegetation matter on the ground, are sucked up into the shredding chamber but do not suffer significant damage in the Carlson machine because the loose whips give rather than impact with force. (Carlson at Col. 2, lines 31-38.)
Because of costs involved today in collecting and disposing of organic vegetation matter, a machine presently is needed to collect such vegetation matter, further to collect vegetation matter over a broad range of vegetation size and consistency, to reduce the volume of such collected vegetation matter for disposal and/or to reduce the size of such matter for recycled use as mulch, and further to collect and reduce such vegetation matter in substantial volumes without clogging.
It is an object of the present invention to provide efficient means and method for collecting and disposing of organic vegetation material.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide efficient means and method for gathering leaves and landscaping vegetation materials.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide efficient means and method for gathering leaves and landscaping vegetation materials, including such leaves or vegetation materials when gathered in voluminous piles produced by a large estate, a golf course, or the like.
It is another object of the present invention to provide efficient means and method for gathering leaves and landscaping vegetation materials, including when such leaves or vegetation materials are wet or have a tendency to agglomerate.
It is another object of the present invention to provide efficient means and method for gathering leaves and landscaping vegetation materials, including for a broad range of sizes of such vegetation materials.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide efficient means and method for gathering leaves and landscaping vegetation materials, including for a broad range of different toughness of material consistency of such vegetation materials.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide efficient means and method for gathering leaves and landscaping vegetation materials and for disposing of such leaves and vegetation materials through recycling for further use as valuable landscaping mulch.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.